Neoliberal transformations after war: gendered narratives of post-conflict survival and crisis in Gulu district, northern Uganda

ABSTRACT

The implementation of neoliberal reforms in northern Uganda was carried out in the context of armed conflicts in the years 1988–2006 and the post-conflict resettlement and reconstruction activities since 2006. This paper uses an intersectional gender analysis of the life histories of heads of the poorest households in Gulu district to document and examine the effects of neoliberalisation processes of appropriation and class formation in the context of extreme poverty in a post-war setting. It examines the gendered nature of the households’ experiences of survival, crisis, and vulnerability and analyses the effects of neoliberal policies on land, labour, livelihoods, and access to healthcare. The data evidences that the neoliberalisation of northern Uganda is compounding the dispossession of the poor, who were previously dispossessed by war. It underscores the fallacy of the ideology of ‘inclusive neoliberalism’ that informed the second phase of neoliberalisation in Uganda, into which northern Uganda was integrated. Gender proves to be a highly useful analytical lens through which to explore life histories.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender
• neoliberalism
• northern Uganda
• Gulu
• post-conflict
• privatisation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Data availability statement

The data collected in this study is available for sharing, and procedures for accessing it are contained in the data-sharing policy accessible from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine website (https://www.mrcuganda.org/publications/data-sharing-policy).

Considerations

Ethical approval was obtained from the Makerere University School of Public Health Institutional Review Board (IRB00011353) (Protocol 177) and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (SS 3024). Written informed consent was obtained separately from the participants for qualitative and quantitative data. Confidentiality and anonymity were maintained throughout the study period. The study team was ready to refer all participants who needed counselling to expert counsellors in Gulu town though the service was never required.

Additional information

Funding

The author would like to thank the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for the funding to the ReBUILD Consortium under which this study was undertaken.

Notes on contributors

Sarah N. Ssali

Sarah N. Ssali is Associate Professor and Dean of the School of Women and Gender Studies. She is a Social Scientist with expertise in gender and international health. She teaches and researches in the area of health systems, post-conflict studies, gender studies, state politics, public policy and neoliberal reforms in Uganda. Her main research interests are in how neoliberal reforms are shaping life in Uganda. Although she has focussed on Uganda, her research has been undertaken in consortia with several regional and international universities and organisations.